The average score of Fortune 500 participants was 93%. The average score of Fortune 500 that did not participate was 13%. The non-responders scores are typically ranked based on publicly available information. These organizations lack transgender-inclusive benefits, organizational LGBTQ competency, and a public commitment to the LGBTQ community. Only 16% provide domestic partner benefits and less than 1/2 have gender identity in their U.S. non-descrimination policy.

New This Year

Companies that did not have a 2017 Ranking and entered 2018 with a 100% score iinclude:

ADP

Alix Partners

Allstate Insurance

Bass, Berry.& Sims PLC

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC

The Capital Group Companies Inc.

The Carlyle Group LP, The

Cerner Corp

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.

Fortive Corp.

Greenberg Traurig LLP

Huntington Ingalls Industries

Indeed Inc.

Iron Mountain

Kindred Healthcare Inc.

Lyft Inc.

Medallia Inc.

Nokia Inc.

Publicis Media

Rackspace

SapientRazorfish

Societe Generale Financial Corp.

Toyota Motor North America Inc.

University of Phoenix

Volkswagen Group of America Inc.

West Corp.

Workday Inc.

Declines

Companies that saw a reduction in their score from 2017 include:

A|X Armani Exchange (85 > 80)

Afac Inc. (75 > 85)

Agilent Technologies Inc. (95 > 85)

Barnes & Thornburg LLP (90 > 85)

BMC HealthNet Plan (75 > 70)

BMC Software Inc. (80 > 70)

Bridgestone Americas Holding Inc. (80 > 65)

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (70 > 60)

Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC) (80 > 75)

Crate and Barrel / CB2 (100 > 95)

Emmis Communications Corporation (60 > 40)

Fluor Corp. (85 > 80)

Hachette Book Group (70 > 65)

Illinois Tool Works Inc. (65 > 60)

ITT Corp. (55 > 45)

The Laclede Group Inc., (80 > 65)

McCormick & Company Inc. (80 > 75)

NRG Energy Inc. (70 > 65)

NYSE Euronext Inc. (55 > 45)

Orbital ATK, Inc. (35 > 15)

RBS Securities Inc. (85 > 80)

Seagate Technology LLC (45 > 25)

Severn Trent Services Inc. (35 > 15)

Supervalu Inc. (80 > 75)

Waste Management Inc. (90 > 80)

Whole Foods Market Inc. (85 > 75)

Notable Quotables

"Republic cannot thrive without hiring the best talent into a truly diverse and inclusive workplace and culture," said Mike Huycke, senior vice president of human resources at Republic Services. "We believe in making our people feel welcomed and valued, and it is important that we provide an inclusive work environment and evolving benefits programs that enable us to recruit and retain the best people. It is part of what makes Republic a great place to work, and it has become integral to fulfilling our promise to our customers."

"It's an honor to be recognized for the fourth straight year by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation for the work we do around creating an inclusive workplace," said Grainger Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer, Joseph High. "We are committed to having a culture where all team members feel safe, valued and encouraged to contribute their best thinking, and we will continue to find ways to promote inclusion and diversity as a way to help our team members grow and succeed."

"Our communities, customers and workforce are more diverse today than ever, and so we approach diversity and inclusion as a strategy for business success, as well as the right thing to do," said LaTonya King, Duke Energy's director of diversity and inclusion. "I'm very proud of the progress we've made and will continue to make on this journey toward inclusion."

"As a global company serving a diverse range of communities, the richness of our own different backgrounds, cultures, experiences and ideas brings enormous value to the organization, and I'm proud to be a part of a team that celebrates this," said Michael Quiello, United's vice president of corporate safety serves as executive sponsor of EQUAL. "The Human Rights Campaign's recognition seven years running is a powerful validation that we're continuing down the right path."

"Diversity and inclusion are bedrocks of our company culture and way of doing business. This commitment is demonstrated not only through our diverse workforce, but also in the top quality of service we provide to our guests who visit us from all corners and cultures of the world," said Phyllis A. James, Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity & Corporate Responsibility Officer for MGM Resorts International. "We are honored to be recognized for the vigorous efforts we invest in promoting equality for all within our Company, our communities and human society. We will proudly continue to stand with the LGBTQ community in helping to build a world that embraces inclusion and respect for the humanity and dignity of all people."

"We are extremely proud to receive this honor from the HRC, which is the gold standard when it comes to examining company policies and practices affecting the LGBTQ community," said Philip Blake, President of Bayer U.S. "We recognize the importance of fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity and inclusion. Supporting the LGBTQ community is not just good policy, it's good business. We want to thank all of Bayer's U.S. employees who worked so tirelessly to achieve this perfect score."

Damian Smith, Chief Diversity Officer for Societe Generale Americas, said, "This score points to our firm-wide commitment to ensuring that all of our programs, policies, and practices create an environment where all employees regardless of background or experience feel that this is a place where they belong."

"We are honored and proud to once again achieve this recognition and perfect score, especially so for our LGBTQ employee population," said James Gemmell, Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer at Akamai. "We are a company that believes every employee deserves an environment where they can work to the best of their abilities each and every day. We are committed to fostering an inclusive culture and are continuing to work hard to enhance the diversity of our workforce."

"For years, Caesars Entertainment has been on the leading edge of progressive policies around human rights," said Jan Jones Blackhurst, Executive Vice President, Public Policy & Corporate Responsibility at Caesars. "We continue to engage people of diverse backgrounds – including LGBTQ team members, guests and suppliers – to promote our support for equality. Caesars is proud of this recognition by the Human Rights Campaign, and to be a leader in championing diversity and equal rights for everyone."

"We are proud to be recognized for our efforts to foster a work environment that enables our LGBTQ employees to be their authentic selves every day," said Alessandra Ginante, Executive Vice President of Human Resources for Diageo North America. "Celebrating diversity and fostering an inclusive environment for everyone is at the core of Diageo's values."

"At Dunkin' Brands, we are committed to improving the diversity of our employee base and to fostering an inclusive environment for all," stated Rich Emmett, Chief Legal and Human Resources Officer, Dunkin' Brands. "We're very proud to have scored a 90% in our debut on the 2018 Corporate Equality Index, and will strive to reach 100% in future years."

"It is an honor to receive a perfect score for the third year in a row on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index," said Andre Goodlett, corporate manager of diversity and inclusion at Hormel Foods. "We believe a diverse and inclusive workforce fosters innovation and creates an environment filled with unique perspectives. As a result, diversity and inclusion help us meet the needs of customers and consumers around the world."

For 2019, HRC is updating the criterial for the CEI. The last major criteria update was introduced in 2014. These changes include same-sex spousal bene ts AND same- and opposite-sex domestic partner benefits. With the introductio of marriage equality, some businesses were able to achieve scoring based on the change in law, not the change in policy or disposition. By ensuring domestic partner benefits are required, employees will continue to be protected regardless of any future possible change in federal law.

Transgender benefits must eliminate blanket exclusions for transition related care in all health care plans (i.e. conform with the law) AND Explicit affirmation of coverage adhering to the criteria above will be required.

Participants with a supplier diversity program must include LGBTQ suppliers in their outreach efforts to maintain full credit in this section. Participants with a supplier diversity program that does not include LGBTQ diversity will lose 5 points under Public Engagement. Participants need not be NGLCC partners, but must have outreach to LGBTQ-owned businesses if seeking credit in this category.